Snow day

Today we have ice on top of the couple inches of snow that fell before the “warm” front moved through, so naturally school was closed. (Whatever.) That means the kids were home with me today, so we took advantage of this opportunity to get some holiday baking done: specifically, cookies for teacher gifts and classroom parties.

In two hours, we cranked out what my son very eloquently described as a “crapload” of cookies — 120-some, to be more exact. We only had to put four out of their misery: a reindeer with a broken leg, two maimed gingerbread men, and a decapitated angel. We will decorate them this evening, as they will be completely cooled by then.

Just as we finished baking, the doorbell rang and a several neighborhood kids invited them to play outside. After about an hour of chasing each other around, throwing ice at one another, and cleaning off my car (!), the boys flocked back inside to chase each other around imaginary worlds on the Ninetendo and throw virtual grenades at one another. (I detect a pattern here…) In addition to a symphony of surprisingly high-pitched shrieks, I just overheard the following dialogue:

M: I just have one question: why did we all die?
E: Because I blew us up.
M: Oh.
E: This time I promise to THROW the grenade.
[A moment later…]
Run away! Run away!

Ahhh…there’s nothing like a houseful of 12- and 13-year-old boys. Good thing I put the cookies away before they came inside.

Those cookies look good. How nice to make them for school. Ha! My first thought when the boys came into your post was: Oh, oh. There go the cookies! Smart move to put them away. Video games have come a long way! It’s almost scary! Sounds like a good time was had by all. Blessings to you…

I, too, was very glad I remembered to put away the cookies before they got “put away” by the boys! After about an hour of video games, they went outside to chase each other around and throw ice chunks some more. The simple joys of childhood…I’m just thankful they aren’t “too old” to enjoy them. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

I didn’t even realize the teapot was in the picture! I should take some pictures of the cookies now that we decorated them — we had a lot of fun and got VERY creative: we ended up with a Cyclops (!), Patrick Star (of SpongeBob fame), and several plaid snowmen. When my mom was visiting a couple Halloweens ago, we made gingerbread people and decorated them like vampires, mummies, and Frankenstein monsters. THAT was fun!

We’re hosting the Christmas Day gathering this year, so everyone is coming here. Where will you be?

Insanely enough, I’m doing it again Wednesday. I should have my head examined!
Seriously though, it truly is The Sauce. It doesn’t last forever, and each day is precious. I don’t always have the mental coherence to recognize that, but I’m thankful for every day that I do.
Enjoy Christmas vacation with your own not-so-little rugrats!

I love the idea of making gingerbread cookies at Halloween and decorating them as vampires and such! I am going to have to steal that idea! I am insanely jealous of living in a house and having neighborhood friends come over. I always wanted to have the house that all the kids came to hang out in and play in the backyard. Sigh, maybe one day. Enjoy every minute!

Now that you mention it, I seem to recall some notification of this year’s version of the home-made vs. store-bought baked goods rule, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it said. Through a decade of having kids in school, the rule has changed so many times (sometimes in the middle of the school year) that I just go ahead and do whatever I want and let the chips (or cookies) fall where they may!